News

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

1 new COVID-19 case announced Tuesday

The latest person to contract COVID-19 in Alaska is an Anchorage man, and he brings the state total to 371 positive cases. The Alaska Department… Continue reading

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
Signs on Saturday, March 28, 2020, at the main entrance to South Peninsula Hospital in Homer, Alaska, warn visitors not to enter until they have been met by hospital staff. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

New cases announced in Homer, Anchor Point

One case is from community transmission, the other still under investigation

Signs on Saturday, March 28, 2020, at the main entrance to South Peninsula Hospital in Homer, Alaska, warn visitors not to enter until they have been met by hospital staff. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
The Swan Lake Fire can be seen from above on Monday, Aug. 26 on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Alaska Wildland Fire Information)

Reminder: Burn permits are suspended starting May 1

Starting Friday, May 1, all burn permits are suspended by the Alaska Division of Forestry, and burning both large and small scale is not allowed.… Continue reading

The Swan Lake Fire can be seen from above on Monday, Aug. 26 on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Alaska Wildland Fire Information)
In this file photo, the Alaska Marine Highway System ferries LeConte, left, Malaspina and Tazlina, hidden from view, are tied up at the Auke Bay Terminal on Thursday, July 25, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Alaska ferries to receive $10M in virus relief

JUNEAU — The Alaska ferry system is expected to receive an initial injection of $10 million in federal coronavirus recovery funding, officials said. The allocation… Continue reading

In this file photo, the Alaska Marine Highway System ferries LeConte, left, Malaspina and Tazlina, hidden from view, are tied up at the Auke Bay Terminal on Thursday, July 25, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)
AP Photo | Gregory Bull, File A woman walks before dawn in Toksook Bay, Alaska, a mostly Yup’ik village on the edge of the Bering Sea. A judge has ruled in favor of tribal nations in their bid to keep Alaska Native corporations from getting a share of $8 billion in coronavirus relief funding — at least for now. In a decision issued late Monday, April 27, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C., said the U.S. Treasury Department could begin disbursing funding to 574 federally recognized tribes to respond to the coronavirus but not to the corporations.

Judge sides against Native corporations in CARES Act ruling

Tribes says corporations aren’t governments.

AP Photo | Gregory Bull, File A woman walks before dawn in Toksook Bay, Alaska, a mostly Yup’ik village on the edge of the Bering Sea. A judge has ruled in favor of tribal nations in their bid to keep Alaska Native corporations from getting a share of $8 billion in coronavirus relief funding — at least for now. In a decision issued late Monday, April 27, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C., said the U.S. Treasury Department could begin disbursing funding to 574 federally recognized tribes to respond to the coronavirus but not to the corporations.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a Monday, April 20, 2020 press conference in the Atwood Building in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Office of the Governor)

Seawatch: State announces protocols for commercial fishermen and charters

Two more cases announced Thursday brings state total to 337

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a Monday, April 20, 2020 press conference in the Atwood Building in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Office of the Governor)
Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska’s chief medical officer, addresses reporters during a Wednesday, March 25, 2020 press conference in the Atwood Building in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Office of the Governor)

‘Not time to be letting our guard down’

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink said the state is expecting to see more cases.

Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska’s chief medical officer, addresses reporters during a Wednesday, March 25, 2020 press conference in the Atwood Building in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Office of the Governor)
COVID-19. (Courtesy the CDC)

First Alaska inmate tests positive for COVID-19 in Mat-Su Valley

Cases also reported in North Pole, Sitka on Sunday

COVID-19. (Courtesy the CDC)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a Thursday, April 16, 2020 press conference in the Atwood Building in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)

State eases restrictions on religious and social gatherings

Two more cases reported Friday for state total of 339

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a Thursday, April 16, 2020 press conference in the Atwood Building in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
COVID-19. (Courtesy the CDC)

Sitka’s first COVID-19 case not included in state’s official Saturday count

Total number of cases rests at 340, while 217 have recovered

COVID-19. (Courtesy the CDC)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a Monday, April 20, 2020 press conference in the Atwood Building in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Office of the Governor)

State announces protocols for commercial fishermen and charters, loosens some in-state travel restrictions

Two more cases announced Thursday brings state total to 337

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a Monday, April 20, 2020 press conference in the Atwood Building in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Office of the Governor)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a press conference Thursday, March 26, 2020 in the Atwood Building in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Office of the Governor)

Dunleavy announces first phase of reopening economy

Restaurants, retails and personal care services open at limited capacity.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a press conference Thursday, March 26, 2020 in the Atwood Building in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Office of the Governor)
Peter Segall | Juneau Empire Patrons wait outside a cannabis business in Juneau on Monday.

Cannabis industry rolls along despite pandemic

It’s not all flower.

Peter Segall | Juneau Empire Patrons wait outside a cannabis business in Juneau on Monday.
Courtesy photo | Sealaska Heritage Institute This original Ravenstail-style design, inspired by traditional designs in use for hundreds of years in Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures, was created by Clarissa Rizal, a master weaver, in 1996. (

Sealaska Heritage Institute sues Neiman Marcus for “blatant” copyright infringement

The case is the first of its kind in the U.S.

Courtesy photo | Sealaska Heritage Institute This original Ravenstail-style design, inspired by traditional designs in use for hundreds of years in Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures, was created by Clarissa Rizal, a master weaver, in 1996. (
Oil tank train cars sit idle Tuesday, April 21, 2020, in East Chicago, Ind. The world is awash in oil, there’s little demand for it and we’re running out of places to put it. That in a nutshell explains this week’s strange and unprecedented action in the market for crude oil futures contracts, where traders essentially offered to pay someone else to deal with the oil they were due to have delivered next month. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Oil production continues in Alaska even with low prices

Still not free at the gas station.

Oil tank train cars sit idle Tuesday, April 21, 2020, in East Chicago, Ind. The world is awash in oil, there’s little demand for it and we’re running out of places to put it. That in a nutshell explains this week’s strange and unprecedented action in the market for crude oil futures contracts, where traders essentially offered to pay someone else to deal with the oil they were due to have delivered next month. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a Tuesday, April 14, 2020 press conference in the Atwood Building in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Office of the Governor)

Dunleavy previews plan to reopen Alaska economy

Two new COVID-19 cases announced Monday bring state total to 321

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a Tuesday, April 14, 2020 press conference in the Atwood Building in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Office of the Governor)
COVID-19. (Courtesy the CDC)

Five more COVID-19 cases reported on Sunday

5 new cases brings state total to 319

COVID-19. (Courtesy the CDC)
COVID-19. (Courtesy the CDC)

Soldotna reports two more COVID-19 cases

5 new cases brings state total to 314

COVID-19. (Courtesy the CDC)
In this July 20, 2013 file photo, several thousand dipnetters converged onto the mouth of the Kenai River to catch a share of the late run of sockeye salmon headed into the river in Kenai, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion file photo/Rashah McChesney)

State eyes opening more of the economy

Dunleavy says retail sector is next; Crum talks commercial, sport fishing precautions

In this July 20, 2013 file photo, several thousand dipnetters converged onto the mouth of the Kenai River to catch a share of the late run of sockeye salmon headed into the river in Kenai, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion file photo/Rashah McChesney)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a Tuesday, April 14, 2020 press conference in the Atwood Building in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Office of the Governor)

Dunleavy: State will move toward reopening economy slowly, safely

7 new cases announced Thursday brings state total to 300

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a Tuesday, April 14, 2020 press conference in the Atwood Building in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Office of the Governor)
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